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"Rooney's out for tomorrow," said Sir Alex. "He has a bad throat. There were traces of it in Amsterdam last Thursday and he's been in bed for a lot of the weekend. He came in this morning for the first time. We're trying hard to get him ready for Sunday [at Norwich]."

Tom Cleverley is expected to play 90 minutes after being eased into his comeback in the first leg following his recovery from an ankle injury.

"Hopefully Tom will play a full game tomorrow," added Sir Alex at a press conference at Old Trafford. "He's back and it's good to have him back. He gives us more ammunition in the midfield area, which was an area some people were worried about. Anderson's back training with the first-team now as well."

14:01 We're underway. Sir Alex opens by saying United are determined to avoid an Ajax fightback. "The experience we had against Basel, where we were 2-0 up at half-time, that's in our memories. I don't think we'll be casual or careless about what we're trying to achieve tomorrow but it's a good lead. You can't dispute that."

14:03 Sir Alex on Ryan Giggs' imminent 900th appearance: "It's amazing. When we went to Moscow he beat Bobby Charlton's record. It's phenomenal and he keeps defying his age. His performance level now is as it was then. Nothing's changed. I think Ryan's maturity and the fact we've changed his position has given a new aspect to his game. We remember him running up and down the touchline, running at full-backs."

14:05 On Giggs vs Paolo Maldini: "Maldini was a defender. And although in his case he did a lot of running as a full-back, wide players have more work to do as full-backs. That's the distinctino between the two, although Maldini was obviously a magnificent player."

14:06 More on Giggs: "From my point of view, and not everyone will agree with me, being in the Premier League for as long as he has and achieved what he has, I don't think anybody else will ever do it."

14:07 Sir Alex continues: "We'd rather not be in the Europa League. When you make mistakes in the Champions League you suffer, you pay the penalty. Ajax can consider themselves unlcuky because Lyon won their last game 7-0. Ajax would have been expecting to go through. But we are where we are and now we want to do well."

14:08 Tom Cleverley has been asked a question about Giggsy. "I can't remember exactly but I remember pretending to be Ryan Giggs in the back garden," the young midfielder says. "Him and Scholesy and the more experienced lads are good to have around and learn from. You look at how they work every day and you can learn from them both on and off the pitch. You don't have to be speaking to them all the time - you just have to watch and learn."

14:09 Cleverley on returning from injury: "It's good to be back. It's massively frustrating to be out for that length of time but I'm back now. I'm fresh, I'm 100% and looking forward to the end of the season."

14:10 Sir Alex on Cleverley: "He's a clever footballer and he has a quick brain in terms of his passing. Last week an hour was fantastic for him after that long spell out. Hopefully he'll play a full game tomorrow. He's back and it's good to have him back. He gives us more ammunition in the midfield area, which was an area some people were worried about. Anderson's back training with the first team now as well."

14:11 Ten minutes in, we get to the main news from the conference: Rooney will miss the game. "Rooney's out for tomorrow," Sir Alex says. "He has a bad throat. There were traces of it in Amsterdam last Thursday and he's been in bed for a lot of the weekend."

14:12 More team news / contract news from the boss: "Michael Owen's training well. With his record of injuries we need to make sure he does a full preparation before he joins us. I would think he'd join us in about two weeks. Berbatov's fit and he'll be here next year."

14:13 On Paul Pogba staying: "It's possible. There's been no progress on his contract talks."

14:15 On other threats in the Europa League: "Man City, obviously. All the teams who have been in the Champions League, you have to pay attention to. I would expect Bilbao to win the tie tomorrow and if we get them that will be tough. They have a fantastic home record. That would be a very hard game. You also have to recognise there are a lot of teams who are at a very good standard. Porto won it last year and could be out tonight. We didn't expect to be where we are today and I think both of us would like to win it (Utd and City). That would be a great final, that!"

14:16 The boss and Cleverley also talked about the midfielder's chances of being picked for England. Cleverley: "I'm just concentrating on tomorrow night and then Sunday, for my club. If I can get into some good form between now and the end of the season I'd be more than happy to be involved in the European Championships this summer." Sir Alex: "Before his injury he was involved with the Under-21s, along with Jones, Smalling and Welbeck. They've all been invovled in the full squad. There are indications he's in the frame."

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